The Chronicles of Narnia

By: C.S. Lewis

   As a kid I’m sure I heard these books several times, and I’m fairly sure I listened to the audiobooks a few years ago while on a job. When I listened to the entire series this week it was like I had never heard them before. This time I listened to a Focus on the Family dramatized version of the series, and it was really good.

Of course I remembered The Lion, the witch, and the wardrobe quite well, but the details of the other books were only vague at best. I found that I liked the other books as much or more than The Lion- - - The Magicians Nephew which is the first in Chronological order was one of the best, the Silver Chair was really good,as was The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and A Horse and His Boy. This was an incredibly well written series from the early to late 1950’s. Little do most people know, that this series is closely paralleled to the Holy Bible. It takes some great deal of explanation but the story line is very similar.

   What I also found very interesting (somewhat unrelated) is that C.S. “Jack” Lewis and our boy JRR Tolkien were very close friends. There was a group of three scholars that met regularly to discuss books, fantasy, life, religion, and whatever else came to mind. This trio included; Lewis, Tolkien, and a guy named Charles Williams. (Check out the book “The Inklings”) They thought that three was the perfect number for a meeting of the minds such as this, because it offered one-on-one discussion while a third could observe, the interactions of the other two, two understand them better. This would allow each person an added level of intimacy because they could see them as they know them, and as they are with another person. They could get to know each other on another level by seeing who they were with another person.This was very important to them, then Williams had a very early death and destroyed the perfect system the three had. 

    Anyway, that was a bit off topic. You’ve heard of Narnia, hopefully the movies didn’t ruin the audiobooks for you. Give them this series a listen or another listen. The dramatized version was really well done. I was able to easily listen to a book or a book and a half per day while at work. You don’t have to pay super close attention, but you could miss a few small details. I recommend Narnia to you, in whatever order you decide to listen. Each book stands fairly well on its own, and there are a lot of interesting characters and creatures to get to know. Another side note; You can see a lot of writing that both authors chose to start their series with magical rings...


Book Listing (Chronological Order:
The Magicians Nephew
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Horse and His Boy
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Last Battle

★★★★☆ 4/5 Stars

Genre: Fantasy, Family, Children, Adventure, Fiction

Book to movie rating: 

Original Movies: B

Newer Movie: C